Two teams that scored in triple figures in opening-round NCAA Tournament wins meet Saturday when Saint Louis takes on Michigan in Buffalo.
Top-seeded Michigan (32-3) led by just 50-46 at halftime before pulling away with a 101-80 opening win over pesky No. 16 seed Howard. The 46 first-half points by Howard were the third most by a 16 seed against a 1 seed in tournament history.
Michigan 6-foot-9 sophomore Morez Johnson Jr. had 21 points and 10 rebounds, hitting all eight shots from the field, while 7-foot-3 junior center Aday Mara added 19 points and seven rebounds.
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Coming off an 80-72 loss to Purdue in the Big 10 championship, Michigan shot .673 from the field against Howard. Michigan won despite getting just nine points from 6-foot-9 forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who only had five field goal attempts in 27 minutes. Lendeborg averages a team-high 14.4 points and is considered a potential NBA first-round draft pick.
No. 9-seeded Saint Louis, a 2.5-point underdog, blew by No. 8 Georgia, winning 102-77. Leading 49-32 at halftime, Saint Louis put the game away with an 18-0 run to begin the second half.
It was a typically balanced Saint Louis attack. Six players scored in double figures, with 6-foot-3 senior Dion Brown leading the way with 18 points, shooting 9-of-10 from the field.
Saint Louis was coming off Saturday’s 70-69 loss to Dayton in an Atlantic 10 semifinal. Entering the tournament, the Billikens had been just 4-4 in their previous eight games, but considering the stakes and opponent, this was arguably their best performance of the season against a Georgia team that finished 22-11.
Michigan vs. Saint Louis Odds
As of this writing, Michigan is a 12.5-point college basketball betting favorite over Saint Louis via BetMGM.
The Over/Under is 161.5 points.
Michigan vs. Saint Louis On TV
Tipoff for Saturday’s game between Michigan and Saint Louis is expected to start shortly after 12:10 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised by CBS.
Michigan vs. Saint Louis Prediction
I like Saint Louis to cover. The Billikens are statistically so close to the Wolverines in many facets.
Both teams are similar in the fact that they have balanced offenses. Michigan has six players averaging between 8.5 and 14.4 points per game. The Billikens have eight players averaging between 7.0 and 12.9 points.
Saint Louis 6-foot-10 senior Robbie Avila is one of the most unique players in the country. He is a great passing big man who can also shoot. Avila will look to pull the Michigan big men away from the basket. He leads the Billikens in scoring (12.9) and assists (4.0) while shooting .509 from the field, .417 from three-point range, and .803 from the foul line. Brown averages 11.3 points while shooting .397 from three-point range.
What made Saint Louis’ win over Georgia more impressive is that the Billikens shot .321 from three-point range (9-of-28). Saint Louis shoots .398 from beyond the arc, which, entering the NCAA tournament, was second nationally. The Billikens also defend the three at a high rate .293.
The Wolverines are shooting just .319 from three-point range, but defend at a .286 clip. That said, Howard shot 14-of-29 from three (.483).
Saint Louis averages 87.6 points per game, while allowing 69.7. Michigan has almost identical numbers, averaging 87.2 points, while allowing 69.5 per game. The teams have a similar free-throw percentage, with Michigan at .748 and Saint Louis at .745.
The Wolverines will be playing without reserve guard L.J. Cason, who suffered a late-season ACL tear. In 28 games off the bench, Cason was a big spark, averaging 8.4 points and 2.3 assists.
The whole key is whether Saint Louis can baffle Michigan with its motion game and three-point shooting. Michigan, on the other hand, lives inside.
Saint Louis also scores inside, only in a different fashion than Michigan. The Billikens are masters at scoring off back cuts and get plenty of layups. That is what happened against Georgia when the Billikens scored 66 points in the paint.
